Dear Dr --
Cristina, my middle-aged daughter, has experienced these symptoms within the last several days: fatigue, fuzzy-headedness, clamminess, very low energy, sore throat, body aches & pains (particularly down the center back, on both torso sides equally and chest area), sharp abdominal pains today, and generally just feeling very rotten & ill. She has had no fever but has had chills. She was noticeably gray in the face yesterday. She is in generally poor health with a diagnosis, as of 2-1/2 years ago, of "chronic interstitial lung disease" with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (ILD / IPF). This is not being treated because we are too poor to afford the usual, albeit ineffective, standard medical treatment for this disease. She also has blood sugar ups & down, with finger stick readings varying from 50 or 60 up to 175 or so. She eats fairly healthfully with only occasional dips into junk food -- usually things like soup made out of organic black or kidney beans, organic kale, collards, carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, garlic, etc. (we eat organic when possible), or burritos made out of ground turkey, Herdez salsa (no added sugar), organic Romaine lettuce, green onions, etc., on organic whole grain tortillas from Trader Joe's, or homemade ceviche made with wild-caught Pacific salmon, or stir fry made with organic tofu... We use organic olive oil and try to get good big green salads into our diet daily, along with vegs found in other dishes. We try to implement an anti-inflammatory or Mediterranean diet as much as possible, but not heavy on the pasta (though we do sometimes eat organic wholewheat or brown rice pasta). We try to avoid GMO foods or heavily sprayed fruits & vegs as much as possible... This doesn't mean there isn't the occasional slip or indulgence into something bad or junky. My daughter is NOT a smoker or drinker -- though there may be a very occasional glass of red wine. We have no idea what caused her ILD / IPF to develop. She has always been hyper-sensitive to chemicals, such as common household cleaning agents, and she did live next to the freeway for several years. We have learned that there are over 230 things that can trigger the development of IPF. She also had an extremely bad CNS reaction / drug side effect brought on by 2 courses of Biaxin given to her to treat MRSA, which she got when volunteering in the local hospital peds ward -- she became suicidal and was put on a 72-hour hold. When the Biaxin cleared her system she was fine with no repeat of these suicidal feelings in over 11 years. This also may have been a bad drug interaction between the Biaxin and the Xanax she was taking -- this combination should be AVOIDED, we learned later (why didn't the pharmacist or doctor catch that?). Years later we also have learned that there are reported instances of Biaxin causing pulmonary fibrosis, leading to death. SO... What is going on now? Don't know, except my daughter is feeling terrible and I'm very concerned. The clamminess in particular is not something that she normally experiences among all the symptoms that she has with the ILD / IPF. She says that it feels kind of like the flu, except much worse and much more painful. That's about all I can tell you... Thank you so much for your help!!! -- Diana